1. Academic Validation
  2. The ZAR1 resistosome is a calcium-permeable channel triggering plant immune signaling

The ZAR1 resistosome is a calcium-permeable channel triggering plant immune signaling

  • Cell. 2021 Jun 24;184(13):3528-3541.e12. doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2021.05.003.
Guozhi Bi 1 Min Su 2 Nan Li 2 Yu Liang 3 Song Dang 2 Jiachao Xu 2 Meijuan Hu 1 Jizong Wang 4 Minxia Zou 5 Yanan Deng 2 Qiyu Li 2 Shijia Huang 6 Jiejie Li 5 Jijie Chai 7 Kangmin He 8 Yu-Hang Chen 9 Jian-Min Zhou 10
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 State Key Laboratory of Plant Genomics, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.
  • 2 State Key Laboratory of Molecular Developmental Biology, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.
  • 3 State Key Laboratory of Molecular Developmental Biology, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
  • 4 State Key Laboratory of Protein and Plant Gene Research, School of Advanced Agricultural Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China.
  • 5 Beijing Key Laboratory of Gene Resource and Molecular Development, College of Life Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China; Key Laboratory of Cell Proliferation and Regulation of Ministry of Education, College of Life Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China.
  • 6 Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Structural Biology, Tsinghua-Peking Joint Center for Life Sciences, Center for Plant Biology, School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China.
  • 7 Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Structural Biology, Tsinghua-Peking Joint Center for Life Sciences, Center for Plant Biology, School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China; Max-Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research, Cologne, Germany; Institute of Biochemistry, University of Cologne, Zuelpicher Str. 47, 50674 Cologne, Germany. Electronic address: chaijj@tsinghua.edu.cn.
  • 8 State Key Laboratory of Molecular Developmental Biology, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China; Innovation Academy for Seed Design, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China. Electronic address: kmhe@genetics.ac.cn.
  • 9 State Key Laboratory of Molecular Developmental Biology, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China; Innovation Academy for Seed Design, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China. Electronic address: yuhang.chen@genetics.ac.cn.
  • 10 State Key Laboratory of Plant Genomics, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; Innovation Academy for Seed Design, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; CAS Center for Excellence in Biotic Interactions, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China. Electronic address: jmzhou@genetics.ac.cn.
Abstract

Nucleotide-binding, leucine-rich repeat receptors (NLRs) are major immune receptors in Plants and Animals. Upon activation, the Arabidopsis NLR protein ZAR1 forms a pentameric resistosome in vitro and triggers immune responses and cell death in Plants. In this study, we employed single-molecule imaging to show that the activated ZAR1 protein can form pentameric complexes in the plasma membrane. The ZAR1 resistosome displayed ion channel activity in Xenopus oocytes in a manner dependent on a conserved acidic residue Glu11 situated in the channel pore. Pre-assembled ZAR1 resistosome was readily incorporated into planar lipid-bilayers and displayed calcium-permeable cation-selective channel activity. Furthermore, we show that activation of ZAR1 in the plant cell led to Glu11-dependent CA2+ influx, perturbation of subcellular structures, production of Reactive Oxygen Species, and cell death. The results thus support that the ZAR1 resistosome acts as a calcium-permeable cation channel to trigger immunity and cell death.

Keywords

Arabidopsis; NLR; Pseudomonas; Xanthomonas; calcium channel; cell death; disease resistance; plant immunity; resistosome; single-molecule imaging.

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